Vignale is the

luxury car A luxury car is a passenger automobile providing superior comfort levels, features, and equipment. More expensive materials and surface finishes are used, and buyers expect a correspondingly high quality (business), build quality. The term is ...

sub-

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

used in automobiles sold in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.Ford Vignale: The history behind Vignale, Ford's new luxury division
on Auto Express, 28 Mar 2016 The former company Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale was an Italian

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

coachbuilder A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, Coach (bus), motor coaches, and passenger car (rai ...

established in 1948 at Via Cigliano,

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, by Alfredo Vignale (1913–69). After its founder's death in 1969, Carrozzeria Vignale was acquired by

De Tomaso De Tomaso Automobili Ltd. (previously known as De Tomaso Modena SpA) is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded in 1959 by Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena. It originally produced various sports prototypes and auto racing vehicles, incl ...

(founded by Argentine businessman and race driver Alejandro de Tomaso). The studio ceased operation in 1973, but ownership of the name was taken over by

(which had majority ownership of De Tomaso). Since then, Ford has continued to use the name sporadically to the present day. Up to present days,

Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. History Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Bri ...

released ''Vignale'' versions of models Mondeo,Vignale: Ford recupera una marca con historia argentina
on Motor1, 4 Sep 2013

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

, Fiesta,

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

, and Kuga, among others.Fiat, Ford y De Tomaso: la marca Vignale vuelve a la Argentina
on Motor1, 4 Jun 2019

History

The first body on a Fiat 500 Topolino base was made in 1948, followed by a special Fiat 1100. Most customers were

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

firms, such as Cisitalia,

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

. In 1952, Vignale collaborated with

Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II (January 19, 1907 – July 2, 2003) was an American entrepreneur and sportsman. He is best known for skippering the yacht Columbia (1958 yacht), ''Columbia'' to victory in the 1958 America's Cup race, and for his effor ...

to jointly produce the Continental C-3. A close cooperation was maintained with

Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph Motor Company, Triumph marques. He was ...

, who in 1959 opened his own design studio and in 1962 definitely concluded the cooperation. 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale ad

Also Rodolfo Bonetto designed a couple of cars in the early 1950s before moving to Boneschi. Later Vignale designs were created by Virginio Vairo. Vignale also designed and built cars themselves, usually low volume variants of the main production cars of these automobile manufacturers. Amongst them were 850, Samantha, Eveline and the Vignale Gamine, based on the

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...

. In 1968, Vignale designed the body of their last prototype, the Tatra 613. Vignale was taken over by

in 1969 who already owned

Carrozzeria Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilder, coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Ma ...

. Shortly after selling, Alfredo Vignale died in a car crash on November 16, 1969. Both coachbuilders were sold to Ford in 1973 but the Vignale brand was discontinued. At the 1993 Geneva Motor Show,

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

, at the time owned by Ford, produced a concept car called Lagonda Vignale. Ford then used the Vignale name in the Ford Focus Vignale concept car introduced at the 2004 Paris Motor Show, however the production model was named as Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet. In September 2013,

announced plans to resurrect the ''Vignale'' name as an upscale luxury sub-brand of Ford. The cars would be visually distincted from regular Ford products and have an improved dealership experience. Exclusive services, such as free lifetime car washes, will be offered as well. The first Ford model to receive the ''Vignale'' name was the 2015

Ford Mondeo The Ford Mondeo is a Mid-size/large family car, large (D-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford since 1993 across five generations for model years 1993-2022. As Ford self-declared world car, the Mondeo was intended to ...

. On 1 March 2016 Ford of Europe announced a Kuga ''Vignale'' concept vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show where the company also announced the line-up of Vignale products, S-Max,

, and Mondeo ''Vignale'' five-door models debut alongside Kuga Vignale Concept, offering a vision of the future of upscale SUVs as well as revealing Vignale Ambassadors and the signature Vignale collection.

Designs

List of cars designed and bodied at Carrozzeria Vignale or coachbuilt to a third-party design. Vignale Ferrari

* Abarth 204A Berlinetta * Abarth 205A Berlinetta *

412 Barchetta, 1951 * Alfa Romeo 1900 ''La Fleche'' Spider and Coupé. * Alfa Romeo 2000 Coupé * American Motors AMX 1966 Coupé * Aston Martin DB2/4 Coupé * Cisitalia 202, 202 CMM * Cunningham C-3 Coupé and Cabriolet * Daihatsu Compagno * De Tomaso Pantera, early production * Ferrari 166 MM Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 166 Inter Coupé * Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta, Spider, Cabriolet and Coupé * Ferrari 212 Inter Coupé, Spider and Cabriolet * Ferrari 225 S Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 250 S Coupé * Ferrari 250 MM Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 250 The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are chara ...

Europa Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupé *

Ferrari 340 America Ferrari America is a series of flagship Grand tourer, grand touring Ferrari models primarily built for the North American market in the 1950s and 1960s. The America models were equipped with large V12 engines and often had custom bodywork done by ...

Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 340 Mexico Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 340 MM Spider * Ferrari 342 America Cabriolet * Ferrari 625 TF Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 375 America Coupé *

Ferrari 330 The Ferrari 330 was a series of V12 powered automobiles produced by Ferrari in 2+2 GT Coupé, two-seat Berlinetta, spyder, and race car versions between 1963 and 1968. The name "330" refers to the approximate Engine displacement, displacement of e ...

GT Shooting brake, rebodied in 1967 * Fiat 600 Coupé, Spider * Fiat 850 Coupé, Spider, Berlina * Fiat 1400 Cabriolet * Fiat 1300 and 1500 Sportiva fastback. * Fiat 1500 Coupé * Fiat 124 Coupé ''Eveline'' * Fiat 125 Coupé ''Samantha'' * Fiat 8V Coupé, Cabriolet and ''Demon Rouge'' * Ford-Cisitalia 808 coupé and roadster * Jensen Interceptor, early production * Jensen FF, early production * Jensen Nova concept car * Lancia Appia Cabriolet, 1957; Lusso Coupé, prototype and series production cars * Lancia Aprilia Coupé for Vignale, 1949 *

Lancia Aurelia The Lancia Aurelia is a car manufactured and marketed by the Italy, Italian company, Lancia, from 1950 to the summer of 1958 — over a course of six ''series.'' Configurations included a 4-door Saloon (car), saloon/sedan, 2-door GT coupé ...

B50 Coupé and Berlina; B52 Coupé *

Nardi Blue Ray 1 and 2, commissioned by Enrico Nardi * Lancia Flavia Cabriolet, would become the last Michelotti design for Vignale * Lincoln by Vignale, a 1987 show car * Maserati A6G 2000 Coupé, Paris Show car * Maserati A6GCS/53 Spider Corsa, commissioned by Tony Parravano and rebodied by Scaglietti in 1955. * Maserati 3500 GT Spyder, prototypes and series production cars * Maserati Sebring 1962, prototype and series production cars * Maserati Mexico prototype, based on a Maserati 5000 GT chassis rebodied in 1965. * Maserati Mexico series production car * Maserati Indy * Matra M530 Sport prototype * O.S.C.A. MT4-2AD Coupé * Packard Eight 'Victoria' Vignale Cabriolet (built in 1948 on a 1939 chassis) * Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Limousine, chassis number LCLW14 * Standard Vanguard Vignale * Tatra 613 prototypes and production cars * Triumph Italia * Vignale Gamine by Alfredo Vignale

Notable designers

* Alfredo Vignale *

* Virginio Vairo

References

Bibliography

External links

Coachbuild.com Encyclopedia: Vignale

Vignale Gamine

Lancia Aurelia B52 Vignale
{{FordEurope Coachbuilders of Italy Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Ford of Europe Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1948 Italian companies established in 1948